In this video, I share the methods I have used to stay healthy (and free of colds and the flu) for over 6 years. The methods I share include my supplement routine, my lifestyle habits, and the specific exercises I do to improve white blood cell count and keep my immune system primed to fight off foreign bacteria, viruses, and microbes. All the methods I share are either scientifically tested, proven, or clinically tested for efficacy. It is important to note that these are the tips that I do. Of course, you will need to do your own diligence and seek a health care practitioner (functional medicine practitioners are great) to help you navigate through the necessary laboratory testing, diagnosing, and treatment as this is only an entertainment/educational video. I hope you find it useful! XO, Dr. Linné
FULL-TRANSCRIPT:
Hello my fellow health enthusiasts! Welcome back and if you are new, I’m Dr. Linne and this channel is dedicated to helping you supercharge your health and simplify your lifestyle so that you will have the time, energy to pursue those things that satisfy your soul...In today’s video, I want to discuss the various ways that I personally boost my immune system. You’ve probably been on a rampage researching all the ways you can stay healthy right now. I know. We all are trying our best to keep ourselves (and our immune systems) primed and ready to fight off anything. I get asked this question a lot, especially these days so I want to provide you with some science-based, research-supported actions that I take to keep myself healthy. I’m going to discuss supplements, lifestyle, and particular exercises that I use to boost immunity. And, I can honestly say, it has been working because I have called in sick to the clinic one day in the last 6 years. Seriously. I can’t remember the last time I was “sick”. So, if you are interested in learning a few interesting tidbits, let's dive in and discuss some fun immunity basics! And don’t forget to click that subscribe button, the like button, share this video with those folks you love, and comment below and let me know what you found useful!
SUPPLEMENTS:
Vitamin C: Oral vitamin C may help to reduce the duration of upper respiratory infections and decrease the duration of symptoms such as chest pain, fever, body aches, chills, etc. As prophylactic care (or prevention), I take 1-5,000mg/day and if I feel something coming on, I take 5,000mg at night before bed. Take buffered Vitamin C if you have concerns regarding bowel looseness.
Zinc: Indirectly zinc has been shown to be potentially beneficial in the reduction of risk, duration, and severity of SARS-related viral infections. I take 30-60 mg per day prophylactically and 75-100mg if I feel something coming or am symptomatic.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D should be called hormone D because of its many benefits in the body. It is a staple when it comes to anti-viral activity. While current studies remain inconclusive regarding how effective it is at treating viruses, it should be said that low serum levels of Vitamin D are associated with a greater risk of upper respiratory infections. Now Because Vitamin D is fat-soluble, you really should have your doctor test your serum levels to determine where you are at in the prescribed laboratory range: 30-100. Ideally, I like to be around 60-100 year-round. For me, living in the northwest, it is nearly impossible to rely on the sun at this latitude for proper vitamin D formation. So daily I take 5-10,000. With acute symptoms, I take a lot more than this for several days and then go back to 10K. But please don’t just hear these numbers and start this regimen yourself. This is not a treatment recommendation; but rather, a plea for you to get your levels tested with your physician, nurse practitioner, PA, etc. before you start to take higher doses.
Probiotics: Are you aware that about 70% of your lymphocytes are produced in the immune patches that surround your gut? Studies suggest that your microbiome regulates your immune cells and intestinal epithelial cells. Because of their ability to regulate these cells, there is a positive correlation in the therapeutic potential with modulating immune-related diseases and viral infections. In essence, your gut bacteria have the ability to affect the gene expression, protein synthesis, and signaling of immune cells and your intestinal epithelial cells. Therefore, having a bunch of healthy gut bugs can create the best garden of microbes to fight off disease. When it comes to the administration of probiotics, here is the most important thing to remember: Don’t buy just any probiotic. You need to get one that hasn’t been sitting a warehouse without climate control for 6 months, one that has been clinically tested and proven that the number of organisms that it says are in the bottle are verifiable. If the company has not done this testing through a third-party testing facility, then you need to move on. You are wasting your money. If you can afford a physician-grade product, I would recommend that you get one and rotate your species every two months. Don’t take the same probiotic for a year. Think of it as increasing the variety of flowers in your garden. You need multiple healthy species for the best overall health outcomes. You may want to start small with 5 billion and work up to 30 or 45 billion over time. Again, it is always best to discuss the best method with your functional medicine practitioner.
NAC: N-acetyl cystine may help to improve outcomes in those with upper respiratory infections. It may improve systemic oxidation and decrease inflammation. NAC increases the rate of patient recovery with respiratory issues. NAC interacts with epithelial cells and immune cells, potentially boosting our immune system to combat virus infection. I take 600mg capsules per day to benefit from the NAC effects on the immune cells.
Vitamin A protocol: Vitamin A is another fat-soluble vitamin that must be taken with precaution. If you are pregnant, planning on getting pregnant, or not using proper birth control methods, then do not take this vitamin. If you are not seeking proper medical supervision, do not take this vitamin. For those of you who are under medical supervision and seeing a practitioner who is monitoring your blood work and your vitamin intake, then you may want to consider Vitamin A as an effective immunity booster, especially for acute situations. Vitamin A has an affinity for mucosal tissue and can help ward off many pathogens before they are able to get into the body. Think the nose, mouth, genitals, eyes, lungs, gut. Vitamin A strengthens the barriers at the levels where we need our defenses to be high. Vitamin A is also involved in the function and production of white blood cells to further fight off pathogens roaming around in your bloodstream. I like to do a taper when I feel something coming on. Again, you can get serious side effects from hypervitaminosis A such as nausea, vomiting, changes in vision, bone pain, headaches, and the list goes on. So, please don’t listen to what I do and then do it. This is not a blog aimed at diagnosis and treatment. Be a responsible patient and get your practitioner to run some tests and if they are up for it (most functional practitioners are) they can monitor your protocol.
LIFESTYLE:
Now let’s get into some of my favorite lifestyle methods for boosting my immune system.
CUT THE SUGAR: We all know that avoiding sugar is good for the waistline but did you know that just a small amount of sugar in your diet can significantly reduce your body’s ability to fight off pathogens? Studies show that spikes in blood sugar dramatically compromises the efficacy of your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to pathogenic attack. In fact, in a study providing the participants 100g of sugar, their phagocytic activity or the (first response team of your immune system that cleans up the debris and foreign invaders by eating them up) was suppressed for up to 5 hours afterward. Sugar also can impact your body’s natural microbiome garden in your gut. In fact, higher sugar diets lead to increased gut permeability, meaning things that shouldn’t get through the gut walls do as a result of the inflammation at the mucosal level. INterestingly, some studies have shown that exposure to glucose with viral infections, unlike bacterial infections, will help the body to fight the virus. What does this dichotomy mean? Well while studies seem to indicate that sugar reduction is more appropriate when fighting off a bacterial versus a viral infection, the evince also indicates that avoiding sugar entirely, is preventative of both types of infections.
DECREASE STRESS: When life’s tasks, events, and people who frustrate us come at us at a level that is beyond our ability to cope, we can elevate endogenous hormones such as cortisol as a method of response to the stressor. When these stressors are short-lived, the elevated cortisol helps to keep inflammation at bay. But if the stressor is left unchecked, your cortisol levels can eventually lead to an elevated inflammatory response. This inflammatory response leads to suppressed production of white blood cells, which leads to a reduction in overall immune activity, which leaves you susceptible to all sorts of pathogens. Many diseases are linked to chronic stress including arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, IBS, ulcers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and mental decline. If you don’t manage your stress properly, recognize when you are feeling elevated stress levels and then redirect your activity and attention to something that will help to slow down the brain-body connection, you are headed down the wrong path. If you need to get an oura ring or use the heart math institute’s app for monitoring your sympathetic activity and know when you need to take a breath, then do it. Make time in your day to take deep breaths. Every day. Stretch. Every day. Go for walks outside. Spend time with your dog. Have a glass of wine with your loved ones. Walk away from a stressful situation. Journal. Do something. But doing nothing will lead you down a path that is susceptible to catching the latest and greatest virus, bacteria, a microbe that doesn’t belong.
SLEEP: Sleep and the circadian system exert a strong moderation influence on immune functions. Studies looking into the normal sleep–wake cycle showed that immune naïve T cells and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines exhibit peak production during sleep whereas cytotoxic natural killer cells, as well as anti-inflammatory cytokine activity peak during daytime hours and wakefulness. studies revealed a selectively enhancing influence of sleep on cytokines promoting the interaction between antigen-presenting cells and T helper cells, like interleukin-12. these findings indicate a specific role of sleep in the formation of immunological memory.
EXERCISE: One of my favorite ways to destress, improve lung function, and boost the immune system is to jump on my trampoline. You know I love my cellerciser as it is my main form of exercise and has helped me to get in great shape (see my links and my cellercise videos below). But it is so much more than that. There are three moves that I’m going to mention today that are particularly important when fighting off stress and disease. The first move is the gentle health bounce. The gentle bounce is your basic move that has the most bang for your buck in health returns. This simple move is one that almost everyone can do to stimulate lymphatic flow, improve circulation, strengthen your cardiovascular system, increase oxygenation to the tissue, improves digestion and elimination, and the list goes on...If you only do one move this is it. Just the lymphatic drainage benefits alone are enough to increase detoxification and improve your cellular function. “the movement creates pressure changes in the body, breaks up blockages, and causes millions of one-way valves to open and shut. This activates an internal vacuum system of suction to flush and eliminate viruses, germs, bacteria, dead cells, mutant cells, fungus, cancerous cells, and other foreign invaders.
The second movement that I love is the sprint. A one-minute sprint on a Cellerciser can increase the circulation of white blood cells 10 to 15 times. It’s like giving yourself a natural antibiotic every morning. Do this movement 2-3 times a day and you have an immune system on high alert at most parts of the day.
The third movement I love is the lung strengthener. This movement is key to opening up the lung tissue, including the lower third of the lung that we never fully use. I opens up the bronchial tubes and increases blood flow to the lung tissue, helping you to clear out pathogens faster, helping you to strengthen lung tissue and oxygen capacity, making you less prone to lung-related illness. Now I am not the creator of these moves. Dave Hall created the lung strengthener and besides its amazing ability to increase fat metabolism (oxyten burns fat and is released as carbon dioxide and water in yoru breath) it is one of my staples for keeping my lungs healthy and clear.
CONCLUSION:
There you have it. My absolute best tips for improving my immune function. Honestly, the biggest mistake I see folks make when trying to boost the immune system is thinking that simply popping a few vitamins without taking care of lifestyle factors like sleep, drinking lots of water, breathing more deeply, decreasing stress, and giving up sugar for a while is going to get the job done. And quite frankly, you can eat like a champ but if you pull an all-nighter, you’ll probably catch a cold more easily. You can take vitamin C every day, but if you are stressed to the max and not slowing down, your body will force you into a "staycay" on the couch to prove a point.
WHAT NOW?
The first thing I want you to do is pick one lifestyle factor that you need to change. And make a commitment today to make this a priority. Log your progress every day and keep a record of your wins. Make an appointment with a practitioner that can test your vitamin levels and start a regimen right away that suits your current state and serum levels.
Congratulations! You have just gone through an immune-boosting boot camp that I currently use for myself to keep me free of most infections. If you found this useful, then don’t forget to subscribe for more supercharged and simplified health tips. Click the like button if this was useful to you and share it with those you care about. Leave a comment below and let me know which of these lifestyle factors you want to start working on.
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DISCLAIMER: This post & video is designed for educational and/or informational, entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any other manner. This information is not intended to substitute informed medical advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider. A consultation with your health care professional is the proper method to address your health concerns. You are encouraged to consult your health care provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition.
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